The Arkansas Department of Health reported Saturday that covid-19 hospitalizations had fallen to a six-week low, while the state's daily count of new coronavirus cases was the smallest for a Saturday since July.
State officials reported 1,131 covid-19 patients in Arkansas hospitals, down 18 from Friday and down 97 from Tuesday, the last time the Health Department reported an increase in hospitalizations. Saturday's total was the lowest since July 31, when the state reported 1,105 hospitalizations.
The Health Department also reported 24 fewer covid-19 patients on ventilators, for a total of 292. The number of patients on ventilators has not been below 300 since Aug. 14.
The daily count of new covid-19 cases in Arkansas declined for the third consecutive day. The Health Department reported 1,749 new cases on Saturday, down 410 from Friday and down 611 from the previous Saturday. The last Saturday with fewer new cases was July 31, when the state reported 1,339 new cases.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson noted the drop in his daily Twitter statement about the data.
“During your weekend activities, stay safe,” Hutchinson tweeted. “Wear a mask if you can’t social distance. Protect yourself and your community by getting vaccinated.”
The Health Department reported 33 additional covid-19 deaths on Saturday, raising the state's death toll since March 2020 to 7,232.
Arkansas has seen a total of 473,885 positive covid-19 cases since March 2020. Of those, 446,686 are considered recovered.
Although new daily coronavirus cases declined, they still outpaced recoveries. The number of cases that were considered active rose by 111 to 19,853.
Meanwhile, vaccine distribution on Saturday remained lower than the previous week. The state reported Saturday that 8,918 doses of vaccine were administered, down 2,205 from the previous Saturday.
More details in Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.